Material-handling apparatus



Aug. 10 1926.

' R. H. BEAUMONT MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 7, 1925 Q WITNESSE N INVENTOR; liobez'i ifleaumon'l;

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Patented Aug. 1c, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT] OFFICE.

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Application illed'lebruary 1, 1925. sum in. 1,511.-

My invention relates to material hen-- dling apparatus, and is more especially concerned with skip-hoists and the like. I aim .to facilitate and expedite the' handling of material, and to make such operations high- -lyflexible and adaptable to varying mnvenience. For such purposes, also, I aim to provide for transferring material from one skip toanother.- How these and other advantages can be realized through my inven tion will appear from the description here-.

inafter. of one form of apparatus suitable for my purposes. The plant or apparatus here shown is adapted for taking or receiving a material such as coal, for v delivering it to a crusher and/or a, pulverizer, a screen, or 'a storage bin, orjother treating apparatus (using the expression in a sense broad enough to include mere storage) and taking or receiving the material from such' apparatus and delivering it as desired. In this plant, the coal is elevated and delivered to the treating apparatus by one skip hoist, and thereafter again elevat- (as shown, to an even greater height ed than before) by another skip hoist.

The drawing is a somewhat diagram matic elevation of such a plant, withwind; ing and timing mechanism in perspective.- As here showmthe bucket- T of the first skip hoist receives material from a track hopper 11 through an automatic loader 12,

' and delivers to the top of the treating ap-- paratus' 13 by dumping into a hopper and chute 14. As shown,a car 15 is in position for dumping into the trackhopper 11. The bucket 16 of the second skip hoist/receives material from the apparatus 13 through an automatic loader "17, and delivers (for example) to a conveyor 18. serving storage pockets or bins 19. These correlated skips and 16 are operatedin duplex, from a, common mechanism such as a winding apparatus 20 with coaxial drums 21, 22. The cables 23, 24 of the skips 10,. 16am oppositely wound on the drums 21, 22, so that. the skips operate together but oppositely, and tend to counterbalance one another. As shown, the coal is received at 'a low level; elevated and crushed, stored, I or otherwise treated at an intermediate level; and again elevated and delivered atv a still higherlevel, The difierence' in travel-or lift required of the skips 10, 16 under these condi tions may-be provided for by making the instance;

apparatus 13.

drums 21, 22 of correspondingly difierent' sizes. The cables 23,24 extend over pulleys 25, 26 as ual. r

1 It may sometimes be desirable trans- -may just as well be delivered at once to thepockets 19, without passing through the ap-" paratus v13 at all. As here shown, provision is, made for doing this by dumping the ascending skip. 10 into a chute 27 adapted to locating this chute 27 at an intermediate deliver into the descending skip 16. By I height in the travel of the skips 10,16, about at their. passing ground or region, and reversing the travel of the skips as soon as the transfer via the chute has occurred, it is possible to save the time and'power' ordinarily consumed raising the skip 10 to the hopper 14 and lowering the skip 16 to receive from theloader16, aswell as the useless passage of the material through the in this manner, "a :dumping switch 30 may be. provided at the. upper end of the chute 27, and the timing mechanism 33 oi-the hoisting apparatus 20 preferably adapted forhalting and then reversing the'fskips 10, 16 at and lower ends of the chute 27 when de'- sired. This can be done automatically by suitable interconnection of thetiming mechanism 33 with the dumping switchfl30, as diagrammatica ly indicated in the drawing. As there sho' the drums 21, 22 are driven by an electric motor 34, and the mechanism 33 includes a. timin screw 35 geared to revolve with them. the screw 35 revolves, it moves a nut and contact'member 36 to the direction of rotation of the drums 21,

To control the operations positions above and below the upper 22.[ In the path of movement of the nut 36' 5 whenthe bucket 10 is being raised is adjustable stop and contact member 38, loose on the screw 34 and adjustable along it by a lever 39. The contacts 36,38 cooperate to make or-break a' control circuit 40 for the stop and reversing switch mechanism 410i the motor. Asshown, the operating means for the dumping switch 30 .com-.

prises a quadrant lever 44 with a' locking to be engaged by latch 45, and this lever 44 is connected to the lever 39 by cables 46,46 passing around guide pulleys 47, 47. When the switch is set in dumping position, as shown, by the lever 44, the adjustable contact 38 is .concurrently set in a corresponding position along the screw 35, as shown, so as to be engaged by the screw-operated contact 36 as the bucket 10 reaches the switch 30 and is dumped thereby; and thus the controller 41 is operated to first stop and then reverse the motor 34. When, on the other hand, the switch 30 is set in inactive position by the lever 44, the adjustable contact 38 is thereby shifted to the left to such a position as the screw-operated contact 36 only as the bucket 10 is dumped into the hopper 14;

It will be understood, of course, that the illustration of timing means, dumping switch, and interconnections between them are diagrammatic, and that any other suitable mechanism may be used for the same purpose.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination with paralleled skip hoists, of means for transferring the contents of one skip to the other at an intermediatepoint in their travel. L

The combination with low and high paralleled skips, of means for transferring the contents of the former to the latter at, an intermediate point in the travel of the.

ormer. u

3. The combination with coordinate paralleled skips, of means for dumping the contents of one into the other at their passing ground.

4. The combination with duplex skips, of a chute at an intermediate height in the travel of one of the skips, and an electromechanically controlled switch for dumping said skip into said chute for transfer to'the other skip.

5. The combination with duplex skips, of

a chute at their passing ground, and electro-mechanically' controlled means for concurrently halting the respective skips above and below the. corresponding chute ends and dumping the upper one into the chute.

6. The combination with synchronous mutually counter-balancing low and high lift skips, of a chute at their passing ground, an electro-mechanically controlled switch for dumping the low lift skip. into said chute, and timer mechanism for halting the descending high lift skip to receive the dumped contents of the low lift one from said chute when the switch is set to dump the low lift skip into said chute.

7. The combination with material treating apparatus, of skip hoists for delivering material thereto and receiving it therefrom,

v and elect-ro-mechanically controlled means for by-passing material past said treating apparatus, from the first-mentioned skip to the other.

8. The combination with material treating apparatus, of duplex skip hoists for dumping material into said apparatus and receiving it therefrom, and a by-pass chute from an intermediate level in the travel of a the first-mentioned skip to the other past. said treating apparatus, with electro-mechanically controlled means for dumping the first-mentioned skip into said chute when the other skip is in position to receive its contents from the chute.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Philadelphia, Pennsyl vania-, this 3rd day of February, 1925.

ROBERT H. BEAUMONT. 

